VLT´s Auxiliary Telescopes opening

The sun has set at ESO´s Paranal Observatory and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) is preparing for a night of observations. The Auxiliary Telescopes 3 (AT3) and 4 (AT4, on the right) are opening. While the four 8.2-metre Unit Telescopes (UTs) are typically already opened at this time of the day, the four 1.8-metre Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs) need to wait that the sun is below the horizon to avoid the possibility that sunlight could shine directly on one of the mirrors. In this picture, taken towards the east, the bluish shadow projected by the Earth is visible right above the horizon, followed by a light-pinkish band known as the belt of Venus, a phenomenon due to backscattering of reddened light from the rising or setting sun.

Crédit:
ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:vlt-site-night-2010
Type:Photographique
Date de publication:15 décembre 2010 15:48
Taille:5616 x 3744 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Very Large Telescope
Type:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory : Telescope
Catégorie:Paranal

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
3,7 Mio
JPEG taille écran
122,8 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
167,3 Kio
1280x1024
256,3 Kio
1600x1200
353,7 Kio
1920x1200
413,1 Kio
2048x1536
549,7 Kio